In the first week of training camp, New Orleans Hornets head coach Monty Williams asked his squad that was gathered around him if anyone of them watched the presidential debate. Nearly all of them raised their hands. Then, Williams asked if they have spoken to their players’ union representative. No show of hands. Williams reminded … [Read more…]
Learning on the job is part of the culture in the NBA. Austin Rivers knows this very well because his father, Glen “Doc” Rivers, went through the same thing 30 years ago. But even though 19-year-old Austin has been groomed and prepped for life in the Association, it’s still a painful process — literally. In … [Read more…]
No Derrick Rose. No Dwight Howard. No Dwyane Wade. No Chris Bosh. Is USA Basketball in trouble? Hardly. The talent pool is still very deep and whomever the U.S. sends to London they will be heavily favored to win an Olympic gold medal. The team convenes in Las Vegas on July 5 to start training … [Read more…]
USA Basketball recently announced the 20 finalists who will compete for the 12 spots on the senior men’s national team that will represent the U.S. in the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Among the finalists are holdovers from the 2008 gold-medal winning team in Beijing: Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard, … [Read more…]
When training camp started a month ago, Eric Gordon was a longshot to make the United States national team. But with each passing scrimmage and exhibition game, it became more and more evident that the L.A. Clippers guard had the perfect game to play against international competition. Gordon made it extremely difficult for team officials … [Read more…]
In somewhat of a surprising move, Rajon Rondo has decided to withdraw from the United States basketball team. Rondo told USA Basketball President Jerry Colangelo that he had some personal matters. Translation: Rondo saved himself the embarrassment of being cut from the squad. The Boston Celtics All-Star point guard saw the writing on the wall … [Read more…]
Not a single player from the 2008 U.S. national team will compete in the 2010 FIBA World Championship, so Team USA will have a brand new look. If the 2008 U.S. squad – a group that included Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade – was nicknamed the Redeem Team, then the 2010 U.S. team … [Read more…]